Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister of Education, Culture and Employment
The Honourable Caitlin Cleveland was first elected in the 19th Assembly as the MLA for Kam Lake in 2019, and has served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment since 2023 after being acclaimed to the 20th Assembly.
In addition to owning and operating a northern business for over 20 years, Minister Cleveland worked in a variety of communications and policy roles in both the public and private sectors before entering politics.
Between 2019 to 2023, she chaired the Standing Committee on Social Development, fulfilling a goal to be a part of the discussions and decisions affecting social programs in the Northwest Territories. Her noteworthy work on the Committee included guiding the considerable review and input into recommendations on housing in the NWT, suicide prevention, and improvements to caring for children in care and building supported families.
Within the scope of her portfolios, Minister Cleveland is focused on helping children grow into successful NWT residents that recognize opportunities and develop successful careers that contribute to a growing economy. She advocates for new approaches to sector diversification and innovation, and ensures the North is welcoming both skilled foreign workers and investment in the critical mineral resources across the territory. She persistently explores solutions for efficient and equitable access to programs and services, upholding a shared vision of an NWT where people are supported in the ways they wish to live, work, and grow.
Minister Cleveland is a lifelong resident of Yellowknife where she lives with her husband and their three children.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question here entitled "Government of the Northwest Territories Sole Source Contracting under Procurement Criteria 1.8.2(a)."
Government contract regulations require all contracts be issued through a competitive process, unless they meet the regulatory requirements for sole source contracting. The Government of the Northwest Territories can enter into sole source contracts based on narrow criteria. One of these criteria states that performance of the contract is urgently required and delay would be injurious to the public interest. My...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm also wondering, since we are on this part here oh actually, no, sorry, that's a capital cost question so I will skip over that. Can the Minister confirm if the total $8.5 million is for all of the costs that will be needed to operate Stanton Legacy in its first year in operation? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering what kind of a timeline Health is working with so that we don't risk losing these LPNs to other jurisdictions who might be already waiting with a job offer somewhere? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I was hoping to get to three other things, but I might send some questions to colleagues if they're willing to sneak them in because I think that's going to take the rest of my time. But it's youth in care that have come to us and have said this. And sorry, youth who have also aged out of care who have come to us and have said this. And, you know, I was sent an email recently by a parent that was originated from a youth care counsellor because youth care counsellors are very much overtaxed in the territory right now, and so they don't always have the time...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're just a few short months away from having another class of Aurora College nursing graduates. And so I'm wondering if the Minister of Health and Social Services can tell us how many students she is expecting to graduate from Aurora College nursing program this year? Or how many sorry, how many are currently enrolled and may graduate I should probably ask. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, and I appreciate that. So the reason I'm bringing up youth aging out of care and how much of that breakdown, so if the $40 million was dedicated towards youth aging out of care, is when we went out and spoke with youth, there was a lot of confusion about what youth were entitled to, what they could apply for and ask for services when they are aging out of care, whether or not it was kind of an, you know, one and done as soon as they become of age. And so I'm wondering if there is a breakdown of how much of that actually goes to youth who are aging out of...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, does the Minister have a breakdown of the percent or amount within this $44 million that serves youth aging out of care? That might be a little bit too specific for here today but if possible, I'm wondering if the Minister does have that breakdown. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. And this is not a comment only directed at the health minister but I think all Ministers, is I think we really need to have a better idea of what supports Jordan's Principle is applying to the GNWT because I think that it is far greater than any of us actually realizes. And my concern is if those supports disappear, we will be really struggling in our territory. So I think it's important that we have an idea of what that dollar figure is. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 146)
Thank you very much for that, Madam Chair. That was a very helpful differentiation.
I'm wondering if the Minister can let us know how many youth in care that this $44 million serves and how many youth it serves who are under voluntary service agreement, just for numbers purposes. Thank you.
